In Such Poor Health I Was Unable to Walk As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to the Toilets.

At the age of 19 years old, my regular journey to work meant taking an packed public transport. The vehicle was always jammed and was consistently without any seats once I got on.

On one specific day, I was feeling terribly ill as the bus rocked around each corner. I kept telling myself to hold on another few kilometres so the bus could reached where I needed to get off, so I could then make a mad dash to the closest public restroom to throw up.

As we neared the street towards my stop and I understood I wasn’t going to make it. All of a sudden, it was like a curtain fell over me. Everything just went hazy and muffled; as if someone turned off the audio. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Luckily I was near the front inside the vehicle, so I took several steps forward and told the operator to stop, telling him I was going to be sick. He promptly opened the doors and I weakly exited out onto the street.

I was determined to avoid being sick in view of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and started trying to make my way across to the park opposite the street, thinking I could it would allow me to secretly conceal myself behind a bush to vomit. However I must have lost consciousness. I could feel my body but walking was impossible or see properly, so I started inching my way to the grassy area.

“Are you okay, dear?”

In that instant, someone picked me up. There was an arm around my waist and heard a man say, “Everything alright, love?” I told this mysterious stranger that I had to to be sick. Thus, he practically carried me into an adjacent building and guided me in the ladies’ toilets. He inquired whether I required him to remain with me but I declined.

After a short while, I had recovered to the point of sitting on the restroom floor when from beyond the stall I heard his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Is there anything you require?” I could not to rise just then but I was able to thank him and following a brief period was able to move my legs. I got myself home and spent the following days getting over what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.

I never saw the stranger’s face – just his lower half and a large steelwork tools container he was carrying – but he saved me, when I was at my most vulnerable.

Frequently, society can make you guarded, hostile, and combative. His act was the type of kindness that melts away that hardening of the heart. He was proof that our default setting is towards kindness, a quality I adore about my fellow humans.